Pubdate: Thu, 26 Mar 2015
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Sacramento Bee
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/0n4cG7L1
Website: http://www.sacbee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/376
Author: Jim Araby
Note: Jim Araby is executive director of the United Food and 
Commercial Workers, Western States Council.

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATORS SHOULD LASSO 'WILD WEST' OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA

With the passage of Proposition 215, California became the first 
state in the nation to legalize medical marijuana. Nearly two decades 
later, it has fallen behind. As other states have moved to regulate 
the cannabis industry, California's industry remains the Wild West.

The absence of a clear set of state regulations leaves a wildly 
inconsistent set of local ordinances that can literally vary from 
block to block. To the growing frustration of consumers and neighbors 
alike, this semi-legitimacy has also left workers vulnerable to a 
host of potential hazards.

It doesn't have to be this way.

California protects consumers and workers alike with a successful 
program of licensing and industry standards that apply to virtually 
every profession that involves producing and selling a consumer 
product. This well-tested framework is the reason that you are 
guaranteed that the person who cuts your hair has the training to do 
so, and that you have recourse if you get hurt or head lice from an 
unscrupulous barber or hairstylist. For another example, the 
licensing of acupuncturists has taken this once "alternative" therapy 
into the mainstream, made them safer for consumers and cracked down 
on illicit practitioners.

Yet medical cannabis is a multibillion-dollar industry where anything goes.

There are no statewide standards to ensure criminal background checks 
on growers and sellers, or to test whether potency levels are as 
advertised, or to make sure that cannabis is tested for dangerous 
chemicals. In 2013 a dispensary in Maine was found to be using toxic 
chemicals and was only fined and punished because of state regulations there.

A lack of oversight does a disservice to professional workers who are 
smeared with misconceptions about what they do. That's why cannabis 
workers are leading the call to strengthen the safety and legitimacy 
of their profession. They need to know what strains work best for 
cancer patients, or for those with glaucoma or severe anxiety. 
Imagine if pharmacists did not have similar industry standards.

Without minimum standards for those who grow, process and sell 
cannabis, workers are vulnerable in an industry with a notoriously 
high turnover rate. At the Maine dispensary, workers protested 
because they were being forced to break the law, not to mention being 
exposed to unsafe chemicals. Unfortunately, California workers lack 
the protection to speak up about dangers on the job or poor working conditions.

We are pleased to see that legislators are recognizing the need to 
professionalize the medical marijuana workforce and to keep the 
industry in the hands of legitimate operators who have worker safety in mind.

Two bills have been introduced this year that would implement 
industry standards and protections for workers in this industry. As 
these measures  Assembly Bills 34 and 266  move through the 
legislative process, workers will advocate for strong protections and 
for an apprenticeship program to train workers in safety and best practices.

While there are many opinions surrounding marijuana, medical cannabis 
has been in California for nearly 20 years, and now it looks likely 
that voters will weigh in next year on outright legalization. 
Cannabis workers believe California can once again move to the front 
of the pack by protecting workers and consumers in an industry that 
will certainly grow and become an even bigger part of our state's economy.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom